Macau Revenue Numbers Take Off In December

The Macau casino market continues to see some major revenue increases with December’s gross income numbers reaching $2.3 billion, an increase of 433% compared to the same month in 2022.

December’s revenue was a 15.7% increase from November. This marked the industry’s second-largest total since before the COVID pandemic.

Details On The Numbers

The island is the only Chinese jurisdiction legally allowing casino gaming and Macau recently regained its perch as the world’s top gambling market after the government shut down casinos for much of the pandemic.

Through the years, high rollers from mainland China have been known to make the trip to Macau for some action. However, China has cracked down on junket operators in recent years and much of the island’s turnaround has been driven by smaller-stakes gamblers. According to the Wall Street Journal, some of those lower-level gamblers may now be losing more, offsetting some of the lost business from high rollers.

“While high-rollers are fewer in number than during Macau’s heyday a decade ago,” the Journal reports, “even low-end gamblers typically bet more than $1,500 at the tables per hour and higher-end, mass-market players lose on average more than $2,500 a day.”

Melco Resorts & Entertainment, which owns three casinos in Macau, greatly benefitted from the recent surge in tourists to the island. The company saw a revenue increase of more than 320% to $1 billion for the third quarter. Casino revenue alone vaulted up over 346.2% to $812.1 million.

Numbers Up Despite Slowing Economy

These gaming numbers are in stark contrast to a sluggish economy on the mainland. According to the Associated Press, the World Bank recently forecast annual growth of 5.2% in 2023, but dropping to 4.5% this year and to 4.3% in 2025.

Macau’s gaming numbers come as other forms of legalized gaming in China have seen slowdowns in recent months.

“Macau’s growth is made even more impressive when compared to the performances of China, which holds sovereignty over the region,” iGaming Business reports. “Lottery ticket sales in China for November decreased 2.5% year-on-year, while sports lottery sales were also down 13.3% from the same month last year.

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